David Kuka murder in Tauranga: Mongrel Mob captain Adrian Rewiri sentenced for destroying vehicle

Adrian John Rewiri, pictured during his trial, was sentenced in the High Court at Rotorua for being an accessory after the fact in the murder of David Kuka. Photo / Andrew Warner

Mongrel Mob captain Adrian John Rewiri has been jailed after having the vehicle used in a 2018 murder stripped of evidence and crushed.

Members of murder victim David Kuka’s whānau, who have waited more than five years for justice, were in the High Court at Rotorua for Rewiri’s sentencing today.

Last month a jury found him guilty of being an accessory after the fact to Kuka’s murder in Tauranga.

Kuka, 52, was shot twice on the evening of February 11 in Gate Pā by Rotorua man Dane Mark Pukepuke, who has pleaded guilty to murder.

The Ford Falcon Pukepuke drove to the scene was destroyed by Rewiri after the shooting.

Rewiri was captain of the Mongrel Mob Aotearoa Bay of Plenty chapter at the time.

Justice Graham Lang acknowledged the presence of Kuka’s family members in court at the beginning of his sentencing remarks.

“Nothing about sentencing today can bring back the loss of your loved one,” Justice Lang said.

Tauranga man David Kuka was killed in February 2018.

The judge said Rewiri’s actions prevented the police from obtaining access to the vehicle involved in Kuka’s murder.

“[The vehicle] may well have contained important forensic evidence such as fingerprints, DNA and other evidence relevant to the shooting.”

Justice Lang said that shortly after the shooting, the Ford vehicle was returned to Rewiri’s address by the murderer.

“You then gave instructions to other persons at the address to immediately begin sanitising the vehicle by wiping down surfaces to remove any fingerprints,” Justice Lang said.

“You then told them to begin stripping the vehicle and removing any incriminating items from it.”

Justice Lang said he was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Rewiri had given instructions to search the vehicle for “any ammunition”.

“I am satisfied that this occurred shortly after the shooting had taken place.”

Rewiri then arranged for the vehicle to be taken to a farm property where it was left for several days.

“This was no doubt to ensure the police would not find the vehicle if they visited your address,” Justice Lang said.

“The vehicle was subsequently returned to your address and further steps were taken to remove the engine and other body parts. You subsequently took the vehicle to a scrapyard where it was crushed.”

Justice Lang said Rewiri had a “lengthy list of previous criminal convictions”.

The judge sentenced Rewiri to nine months’ imprisonment.

Rewiri was one of four men charged with murder as a result of Operation Ubertas, the police investigation into Kuka’s death.

Pukepuke, who pleaded guilty last year to the murder, is due to be sentenced this year.

Rewiri, Luke William Belmont and Maru Puriri Michael Wright denied the murder charges.

After a jury trial that lasted just over three weeks, all three were found not guilty of murder.

But the jury found Rewiri guilty of an alternative charge of being an accessory after the fact to murder.

The maximum penalty for that charge is seven years’ imprisonment.

Wright and Belmont were released from custody after the verdicts were read in court.

Rewiri was remanded in custody until sentencing. He was already serving an eight-year sentence imposed in 2021 for unrelated drug offending and a charge of obstructing the course of justice.

Rewiri’s sentence on the accessory charge will be added to his existing eight-year sentence.

Maryana Garcia is a regional reporter writing for the Rotorua Daily Post and the Bay of Plenty Times. She covers local issues, health and crime.